A fine blend of all things Nuts: Multimedia Collections, Toys, Foods, Concerts, Occasional Petting Zoo Visits, etc.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Henshin Keitai Sushi Changer (2009)


Genta's changer is fantastic. I'm sure that's not Soma Keisuke I'm hearing, but I choose to believe it is. Deal. It's stylized after a piece of sushi being pressed onto a bed of rice, and that rice has a magnificent pearlescent blue sheen to it that can only be seen in-person. The included Sushi Disc folds up like Ika Origami's, to boot. For show appropriate reasons, it can call forth all of the (non-Forbidden) Origami individually, as well as those comprising DaiTenkuu and Ika DaiKai-Oh, in their respective groupings. Kuma is mapped to 3 instead of Kame, but that's because the Origamis' numbering matches the original Shinkengers' hierarchy (as also noted on the box for Shinken-Oh), to drive home the fact that things are different (for the better) in the current age. I.e, it's not an error, or a problem.

It's better than the Shodophone. I said it.

A word about comparisons can be found below the cut.

4½ Extravagant Presentations to the Emperor out 5

Henshin Keitai Shodophone (2009)


The obvious appeal of this is the fact that it folds on its vertical axis, into a calligraphy brush, after opening normally as a phone. It's a neat engineering feat that I won't deny, but there simply isn't much to it beyond that, in my eyes. It comes with a set of instructions for pantomiming the five main kanji the team uses to henshin, which is a great touch, especially for Western fans like myself. Though, it isn't THAT hard to imitate the strokes done by the cast on-screen. The center column of buttons (PWR, 2, 5, 8, and 0) elicit the cries of the five main origami, and are in order of the original Shinkengers' hierarchy, not the current-day team. That's not an error; the main point of Shinkenger is how traditions change, evolve, and must be broken.

A note about comparisons can be found below the cut.

3 Flicks of the Wrist out of 5

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Samurai Gattai Series 04 — Ika Origami (2009)


It wasn’t enough that Ika had to be a quality stand-alone piece, she had to be cute to spite us. Even if you can’t fold her legs down as cleanly as you’d like to, in order to emulate her propulsive movement in the show, she makes up for it by being the perfect spin-able desk toy. It’d be easy to complain about those legs simply attaching to the back of Shinken-Oh, if they didn’t have a very specific reason for doing so. Her busou with DaiKai-Oh is slightly disappointing in comparison, but it does put all of Genta’s stuff in one place, and that always tickles a pleasure center for me. The BEST candidate for solo purchasing.

Comparisons of the various versions can be found below the cut.

4½ Sniped Treasures out of 5

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Samurai Gattai Series 03 — Tora Origami (2009)


Tora Origami is one of the better auxiliary mecha in the Shinkenger line. It’s appropriately chromed out and provides Shinken-Oh with a beautiful bouquet of drills. Admittedly, the robo can’t hunch over to make this look dynamic, but as a static display, it works a lot better than the ones that Kajiki and Kabuto afford. I always did like the way Tora unicycled on its disc, claw drills outstretched, too. It completes DaiTenkuu (and consequently Tenkuu Shinken-Oh) and while it’s pretty hard to swoosh the latter combination around a room, it is a solid, beautiful affair that makes owning the main trio of auxiliary mecha worthwhile. Kaoru and Takeru collectors, you may feel free to purchase this alone, with no regrets.

Comparisons of the various versions can be found below the cut.

4 Holes Waiting to Happen out of 5

Friday, November 27, 2015

Buster Gear Series 05: Morphin' Blaster (2012)


This…this one pains me a bit, but not much. The voice in here simply isn’t Beet J. Stag. Maybe it was an early take on him they (wisely) decided to change, but really it sounds like Cheeda Nick trying to make a prank phone call. Everything else is…golden. The change from phone to gun for henshining is scintillatingly kinetic. The vibration sensor for “voice” commands never failed to work perfectly for me. The methodology for achieving the henshin or the hissatsu is slightly changed up and the Stag Buster colored accents on the barrel….shit yeah~

Jin and J deserve no less.

A note about comparisons is below the cut.

BC-04 out of 5

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Gosei Headder Series — Mystic Brothers Set (2010)


The emotional touchstone of the Mystic Brothers is one of my favorites in tokusatsu...and yet it still cannot outweigh the fact that they are just FUCKING WEIRD. It's a giant green ostrich that kicks its unborn sibling around! They weigh down Gosei Phoenix (and Gosei Great, as a whole) when combined and frankly I'm convinced that this set exists as nothing more than an upgrade for Datas Hyper. They allow him to fly and give him even bigger boxing gloves. I suppose they've never marketed an upgrade for a mascot character and figured they had to make it work with the main mecha of the series somehow.

Only buy this if you're going in wholesale on Goseiger. Saban forewent them completely so don't bother looking for a Megaforce version.
 
It's worth addressing how things initially went down, in the show. While Alata does indeed remind Eri of what she taught him, when they were children, the episode is BY FAR AND AWAY written as an Eri episode, making it very strange that the Summon card for these two came out of Alata's belt. While you can obviously see that as a problem rooted in gender, as is common in Sentai, especially regarding mecha, I see it much more as the most direct result of Toei splitting a single character into two separate people. I discuss it, in full, here. Eri unlocks an incredible amount of the mecha, and that obviously includes the Mystic Brothers. If they hadn't finagled the Alata reminding her bit into the script, he wouldn't have unlocked ANY of the permanently present mecha, only the one-time use Exotic Brothers.

It's jarring, it's screwy, it smacks of sexism, but to me it seems to be a result of them insisting on dividing the role of Gosei Red between him and Eri. Still sucks, but at least it's due to them putting so much time and effort into Eri. I'm not rationalizing this shit, anymore; I'm being specific about why it's a problem, not excusing it.

1½ Cries Toward Your Dilemma Out of 5

S.H. Figuarts Cyclone Joker Gold Xtreme (2011)


In terms of emotional significance, Cyclone Joker Gold Xtreme trumps every other post-Final Form that the Neo-Heisei Rider films have produced. It’s 100% justified, 0% gimmick. The toy representation, however, is thoroughly flawed. The figure itself is a fine representation, but the wings—the things that ultimately define it—are a mess in every way. They can scratch easily, the joints connecting them can get out of line super easily, and the connection between them and W’s back is crap. A tri-colored stand is included, sure, but you don’t get a Prism Bicker or Prism Sword. I.e., this won’t necessarily save you from having to buy the regular release of CJX.

Avoid. Avoid like the plague.

1 Canonical Appearance out of 5

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Buster Gear Series 04 & 07: Transpod & Transpod (Beet & Stag ver.; 2012)


These differ in paint, chrome color, and extra sounds. The transport sound is present and so are three voice-modulators. They actually used the Transpods in that capacity, once. It’s true! Outside of that, these have additional sounds that a person on the street would think are random. In truth, to those who have seen the show, the sounds in Beet and Stag Busters’ are obscenely relevant in both simple and deep, characterful ways. Although, that version should have included a clip to allow one to wear it on their pants, like Jin does.

NO. ONE. should ever buy either of these. Knowing about the thought put into the sounds is enough.

There’s a note about comparisons below the cut.

0 Versions Of This Should Have Been Released out of 5

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Bull Megazord (2012)


Because of what I wanted this toy to do, it’s actually better than the Japanese original. Its legs are spread into an A-stance and it’s stylized specifically with the robo in mind. This does make the ox cart suffer greatly, but it honestly is the mode least likely to be displayed by anyone outside of a more hardcore MakoxTakeru shipper than even I. The Gigazord looks a little weird with separated foot rests, as opposed to a solid base beneath the throne, but not enough to make it significantly different in terms of quality of execution compared to Samurai Ha-Oh. Takeru and Jayden need a mecha to call their own. This is unquestionably it.

Differences between the various versions can be found below the cut.

4½ Thunderous Moos of Approval out of 5

DX Samurai Kyojin Mougyuu Dai-Oh (2009)


The appropriateness of Ushi Origami is completely dependent on what role you want him to play on your shelf. If you want Samurai Ha-Oh to regale your visitors with its breadbox-sized parade float glory, get him. If you want a mecha specifically for Takeru (that he doesn’t have to share with Kaoru), get the Bullzord. Mougyuu Dai-Oh is a static brick. He pulls off the ox cart and throne flawlessly. He’s a horrible representation of the robo, however. Know that Samurai Ha-Oh is the king of clusterfuck monstrosities. It’s achingly beautiful in its ambitiousness, but it is ultimately a fixed rectangle of multicolored plastic that does nothing beyond impress and break whatever you sit it upon.

Comparisons of the various versions can be found below the cut.

2½ Gangsta Bovines out of 5
How perfect is this?

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Buster Gear Series 03: Sougan Blade (2012)

Rest In Peace, Fujiwara Keiji-san.

Given how hard I was on the Ichigan Buster, you might imagine I dislike this even more. Not so! I adore the Sougan Blade. It combines with that firearm (and the Li-Oh Blaster) and has voice clips from the regular Buddyroids, sure, but what’s so special about it? It’s difficult to justify, but here’s two things: There’s something utilitarian and combat-knife-esque about it. It’s a very different sort of weapon compared to Sentai’s usual swords. In my twisted mind, it also strangely fits in a Go-Busters mecha display as something to represent Pink Buster. It’s not a mecha, but it’s comparable in size to the smaller ones and it’s the one piece of Buster Gear she used.

There’s a note about comparisons below the cut.

5 “Because I Said So”s out of 5

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Samurai Gattai Series 02 — Kajiki Origami (2009)


Kajiki Origami and Kabuto Origami just don’t stand alone particularly well. Kajiki’s nose bobs up and down when you spin the disc. Oh whoopie~ When combined, that sword hat is questionable at best, and there’s no way Shinken-Oh can bend over to make it make ANY sense on your shelf. Pressure missiles are included, but those are pretty EH, as well. No, like its sibling, Kajiki is best as one of DaiTenkuu’s wings (and tail) or as part of the IkaTenkuu Buster. If you’re the biggest fan of Ryuunosuke in history, I’ll look the other way if you buy this on its own. Otherwise, go all-in, or don’t go at all.

Comparisons of the different versions can be found below the cut.

2½ Marlin VS Swordfish Debates out of 5

Engine Gattai Series EX — DX Engine DaiShogun


Engine DaiShogun is the Go-Onger’s summer movie robo. It’s a black, crimson, and gold repaint of Engine-Oh with a few newly molded parts. It’s so much more than that, however. It’s a mecha to which I have an incredibly profound emotional attachment, as the three characters comprising it—and a further variant of one of them—represent all that tokusatsu means to me. Their dialogue, their decisions, and the way they engage in combat all speak to the true value and purpose of the genre. They speak to me, more loudly and clearly than anything else in a medium primarily defined by highly articulate screaming.

Further discussion can be found below the cut.

5 Grand Marches into Battle out of 5

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Buster Gear Series 02: Ichigan Buster (2012)


It’s not that the Ichigan Buster is a wretched toy, so much as it’s a disappointingly executed toy. It looks great and does everything you'll need it to do, but it’s a bit unbalanced and, in some ways, it’s cumbersome to display. It sags somewhat in gun mode, straining the handle’s transformation joint. The pieces surrounding the lens can bend under its weight, unless you want to remove it entirely. You can balance it as the blaster, but it’s tenuous; neither option fully pleased me. The combination with the Sougan Blade works fine, but there are some unused sounds rattling around, if you want to experiment with the pins.

Troublesome, but not worthless.

There’s a bit of rambling and a note about comparisons below the cut.

1 Premium Upgrade It Doesn’t Deserve out of 5

Sunday, November 15, 2015

DX Samurai Kyojin DaiKai-Oh (2009)


On his own, DaiKai-Oh has a satisfying, extended presence thanks to his perpetually unfurled legs and orange trappings. All of his in-built weapons are accounted for and his Samurai Busou with Ika Origami is screen accurate. The combination with Shinken-Oh makes for a radically and gloriously different robo. While it may move the girls to the back to serve as sword holders/blasters, it also subjugates Shinken Red. When that happens, it’s easy to forgive such transgressions. Though, it IS hard to ignore that the connection between the two torsos is tenuous and badly executed. Treat Genta like the Sixth he is and only do it every so often. If you have the space necessary, buy it.

Comparisons between the various versions can be found below the cut.

4 Doses of Textual Healing out of 5

DX Chalice Arrow (2004)


This is the sort of toy you should only buy if you're head over heels about Chalice, or Blade as a series, and you’re going full-on completionist. It’s well made and beautifully painted, but it makes two simple sounds on its own and takes up quite a bit of room. You can remove the blades, but doing so repeatedly could damage the plastic because of how it warps itself around the grip. Both the Chalice Rouzer and the Wild Slashers can be inserted, and unless you have both, don’t bother barking up this tree.

Comparisons of the various versions can be found below the cut.

2 Big, Two Few, Too Much for Shipping out of 5

Buster Gear Series 01: Morphin' Brace (2012)

Rest In Peace, Fujiwara Keiji-san.

I much prefer cell-phone changers for their supreme logicalness, but this is a brace changer done so very right. It’s got plenty of voice clips from the three core Buddyroids, it has a scanning function, allows for boarding of the Buster Machines and the activation of their finishers—it’s ridiculously multi-purpose. The method for accessing the extra sounds (turning the dial incessantly) was actually worked into the show as a plot point. There’s a really simple game involving that turning, too.

Few toys are this well done and feature-filled at its price point.

A note about comparisons is below the cut.

4 Bunnies Reminding You to Brush Your Teeth out of 5